Electrical connector having a resilient tongue means carrying two detent flaps



INVENTOR ATTORNEYS FIG 6 3,414,871 ILIENT TONGUE MEANS FLAPS 1953 u. TUCHEL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING A REES CARRYING TWO DETENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 14, 1966 Ulrich Tuchel Dec. 3, 1968 u. TUCHEL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING A RBSILIENT TONGUE MEANS CARRYING TWO DETENT FLAPS Filed Feb. 14, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F|G.ll. FIGJZ.

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING A RESILIENT TONGUE MEANS CARRYING TWO DETENT FLAPS Uirich Tuchel, Neclrartalstrasse 51, Heilbronn (Neckar), Germany Filed Feb. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 527,239 Claims priority, application Germany, Feb. 13, 1965,

18 Claims. (cl. 339-217 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE from the insulator in either direction without being hindered by the flap.

The present invention relates to electrical connectors.

More particularly, the present invention relates to electrical connectors, both male and female, which have contact-making and lead-connecting portions as well as mechanical means for securing the connectors to insulators, e.g., plug boards or the like. Connectors of this type find application in distribution systems, in various electronic and electric machinery and other pieces of equipment, such as computers, as well as in equipment which makes use of printed circuit boards.

Existing connectors are held in place with respect to the insulator carrying the same by means of a detent, the arrangement being such that movement of the connector with respect to the insulator in one direction is prevented by the interengagement of a shoulder and a flange, provided on the connector and the insulator, while movement of the connector with respect to the insulator in the other direction is prevented by the detent mechanism. This results in a number of disadvantages: for one thing, the shape of the insulator as well as that of the connector becomes quite complicated. Furthermore, the insulator and/or the connector have to be unsymmetrical, so that the precise configuration of the parts depends on the direction in which it is intended to insert the connector into the insulator.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a connector arrangement which is free of the above drawbacks, namely, a connector arrangement which includes a connector that can be inserted, in any direction, into an insulator, the detent means which are associated with the connector being such as to permit such insertion and to prevent movement of the connector with respect to the insulator, in both directions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connector arrangement which will allow a single standardized insulator to be used in conjunction with any one of a number of different types of connectors each of which can be inserted into the insulator in either direction.

With the above objects in view, the present invention resides, basically, in an article of manufacture which is in the nature of an electrical connector adapted for insertion into an insulator and having resilient tongue means-preferably, a single tonguecarrying at least "ice two detent flaps, the same being oriented to act as detents in opposite directions, respectively, so that one of the detent flaps is effective for preventing removal of the connector from the insulator in one: direction and the other of the detent flaps is effective for preventing removal of the connector from the insulator in the opposite direction. The tongue is actuatable against its resiliency to move the detent flaps into a position wherein removal of the connector from the insulator is possible without hindrance on the part of the detent flaps,

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a connector arrangement incorporating connectors according to the present invention.

FIGURE 2 shows a stamped blank from which a socket type connector according to the present invention is made.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view showing the socket type connector made from the blank of FIGURE 2 and inserted into an insulator.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the structure shown in FIGURE 3 as seen in a plane at right angles to the plane of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is an end view showing the resilient tongues forming a socket within which a flat, bladelike prong, shown in section, is received.

FIGURE 6 is an end view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing a round plug.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view showing a blade-type male connector, the same being held by an insulator.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view of a modified version of the structure shown in FIGURE 7 as seen in a plane at right angles to the plane of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 shows a stamped blank from which a multiple-contact socket-type connector according to the present invention is made.

FIGURE 10 is a side view of the connector made from the blank of FIGURE 9.

FIGURES l1 and 12 show two connectors which are to be nested one within the other, the two connectors being held together by means of a ball-type detent arrangement.

FIGURE 13 shows a stamped blank from which a multiple-contact socket-type connector according to the present invention is made, this connector being adapted to contact but one side of a male contact inserted into a socket, e.g., a printed circuit.

FIGURE 14 is a side view of the connector made from the blank of FIGURE 13.

FIGURES 15 and 16 show two connectors which are to be nested one within the other, the two connectors being held together by means of a ball-type detent arrangement.

FIGURES 17 and 18 show two nested connectors according to FIGURES 9 and 10.

FIGURES 19 and 20 show two nested connectors according to FIGURES 13 and 14.

Referring now to the drawings and first to FIGURE 1 thereof, the same shows two insulators in the form of plug boards 1 and 2, the insulator 2 being carried by a frame 3. The insulators are provided with openings 4, which are symmetrical at least with respect to a vertical dividing plane. The openings are adapted to receive prongtype male connectors 5 and socket-type female connectors 6 of suitably complementary configuration. The connectors 5 and 6 are provided with contact-making portions 15 and 16, respectively, and with integral lead-connecting portions 5 and 6, respectively, these portions 5', 6, being connected to leads 8 in any suitable manner, e.'g., by

crimping, soldering and/or winding. The last-mentioned type of connection, namely, a coil-like winding, is shown at 9. The male connector plugs have flat, blade-like contact-making portions, e.g. portions of rectangular cross section, or they may be round prong-type contact-making portions. If desired, the plugs may be made of two pieces, namely, a contact-making piece which is made of solid material while the piece forming the retaining or arresting region of the connector is made of sheet metal. In practice, however, the plug-type as well as the sockettype connectors are made of a piece of bent sheet material.

The openings 4 of the insulators 1 and 2 are so configured that the plugs and sockets can be inserted in any one of the openings and in any position relative thereto. Thus, the individual connectors can be introduced into the insulators from either side and in every position, from the right, the left, from the top, the bottom, as desired.

According to the present invention, the connectors are provided with detent flaps 7 and 7, there being a pair of these flaps on each connector.

The structure of the detent flaps and the manner in which these flaps operate to hold the connectors in place is best seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, FIGURE 2 showing the stamped blank 10 from which the finished sockettype connector, shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, is made. As shown in FIGURE 2, the detent flaps 7, 7', are arranged on a resilient detent tongue 12 which is integral with the remainder of the sheet material forming the socket. Only the top of the tongue 12 is joined to the remainder of the connector. More particularly, it will be seen that the connector, which is elongated, has at one end the contact-making portion 16 and at the other end the lead-connecting portion 14, and that the tongue 12 is joined to the connector at a place thereon intermediate the contact-making and lead-connecting portions. As best seen in FIGURE 2, the tongue 12 is a portion of the blank, prior to its being bent to form the finished article, which is laterally of and parallel to the longitudinal axis ;11 of the remainder of the blank.

Both of the flaps 7 and 7 are elastically bent outwardly from the same side of the tongue 12; while, as shown, the flaps are out along three edges, they may be out along only two.

As is apparent from the drawings, the flaps 7 and 7' are oriented to act as detents in opposite directions, respectively, so that one detent is effective for preventing removal of the connector from the insulator in one direction and the other detent flap is effective for preventing removal of the connector from the insulator in the opposite direction. As shown in FIGURE 4, the two detent flaps engage the inside and outside, respectively, of an inwardly directed flange 2a of the insulator 2 so that the insulator need not be provided with any further shoulders or flanges. Only the two opposite directly detent flaps, would be needed to fix the position of the connector within the insulator. Thus, the shoulder provided at the end of the contact-making portion 16 can be, and preferably is, eliminated from preferred embodi ments of the present invention.

As shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, the end of the tongue 12 is bent under to form a hook 13, which itself has a manifold purpose. For one thing, the hook prevents the connecting lead from being pushed too far into the connector during soldering or crimping. The hook also acts against a deformation of the tongue. Furthermore, the hook prevents the detent tongue from freeing itself; on the other hand, the hook can be depressed so as to move the flaps 7, 7' out of the way, whenever it is desired to withdraw the connector, i.e., the tongue 12 is actuatable against its resiliency to move the flaps 7, 7 into a position wherein removal of the connector from the insulator is possible without hindrance on the part of the detent flaps.

The lead-connecting portion 14 9f th Qnnector is provided with cut-outs 14'; when the blank is bent into its ultimate configuration, the two cut-outs 14' together form an opening for receiving a drop of solder.

The insulator is symmetrical with respect to the axis of symmetry of the blank 11 (FIGURE 2).

The contact-making socket 16 of the connector 6 is fashioned as a self-cleaning connector socket and is made up of a plurality of individual and mutually independently resilient tongues 16 and 16". According to a further feature of the present invention, these tongues 16 and 16 are so long that they surround and encompass the male connector prong, i.e., they go beyond the line of symmetry 11 of the socket and circumferentially overlap each other. This affords an especially long spring path, as a result of which the contact-making parts which exert the contact pressure will be less susceptible to fatigue.

FIGURE 5 shows the tongues 16' and 16" bent to form a suitable socket for receiving a male connector plug 19 having a rectangular cross section, while FIG- URE 6 shows these tongues as being bent to form a suitable socket for receiving a round, prong-like male connector plug 20.

FIGURE 7 shows the insulator 1 which receives the male connector plug 5. The insulator is shown as having inwardly extending flanges 17, against which abut outwardly extending shoulders of the connector 5; this interengagernent between the connector and the insulator is not needed in order to hold the connector within the plug board and is shown merely to indicate the detent means of the present invention as being suitable for use with conventional, existing plug boards. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, flanges 17 will be eliminated, as shown in FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 8, which shows the interengagement between the flaps 7, 7', and the inwardly directed flange 1a of the insulator 1, also shows that the prong-type connector can be inserted, always with contact-making portion 15 first, into the insulator either as depicted, i.e., downwardly from the top, as viewed in FIGURE 8, or from the bottom; in the latter casewhich can be imagined by considering the insulator 1 as having been turned upside down from the position depicted in FIGURE 8the prong, now indicated in dashed lines at 18, will extend a greater distance beyond the insulator. In this way, two different lengths of prongs can be obtained, which allow the connector arrangement to be used, for example, for grounding an electrical circuit or for serving as a disconnect element. In addition, the connector can be inserted with the orientation shown or it can be rotated through an angle of about its longitudinal axis and inserted so that flaps 7 and 7' engage the left-hand flange 1a rather than the right-hand one.

FIGURE 9 shows a leaf-spring type connector, the same being provided with an additional lead-connecting portion 21 and an additional detent flap 22, the contactmaking portion of the connector being composed of a plurality of flat, mutually independently resilient tongues. The additional lead-connecting portion 21 allows a double-lead connection. The additional detent flap 22 serves for the same purpose, which accomplishes the same result in a different manner. Two bent leaf springs, each made from the blank shown in FIGURE 9, are nested into each other and are detented to each other, for example by means of the flap 22. Two such nested springs, already provided with the leads, can be inserted into the opening of the insulator, or the second spring can be inserted after the first has been inserted.

FIGURES 17 and 18 show a pair of nested springs, of the type shown in FIGURES 9 and 10, already detented in the insulator, with the inner connector being detented, by its flap 22, into a portion 35 of the outer connector. The contacts are adapted to receive, for example, a printed circuit board 23 which is provided with electrical contacts on both sides.

FIGURES 13 and 14 show a contact which can be combined with a similarly configured contact to provide a socket for receiving a printed circuit board in such a manner that the electrical circuitry on the two sides of the board are contacted separately and independently of each other. FIGURES 19 and 20 show two pairs of nested contacts, with each contact being formed from a piece according to FIGURES 13 and 14, within the opening of an insulator.

FIGURES 11, 12, 15 and 16 show how two nested contacts can be detented to each other by means of a ball 31, 32, 33, or 34. This allows a longitudinal detenting to be released in lateral direction.

It will thus be seen from the above that, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a connector arrangement in which an electrical connector adapted for insertion into an insulator is provided with at least one resilient tongue carrying at least two detent flaps which are oriented to act as detents in opposite directions, respectively, so that while one fiap prevents withdrawal of the connector from the insulator in one direction, the other flap prevents withdrawal in the other direction. The flaps can, of course, be moved out of the way by depressing the resilient tongue, so that the detent flaps will not interfere with the removal of the connector from the insulator.

Thanks to the fact that various connectors, both male and female, are configured to be receivable by identically configured insulators, the sockettype connectors and prong-type connectors are selectively insertable into standardized insulators. This lends increased versatility to the connector arrangement.

Also, the structure is very compact, so that it can readily be used in electronic computers and other pieces of equipment where miniaturization is a significant factor.

Also, thanks to the fact that, in the blank, the detent tongue 12 is arranged laterally of the remainder of the connector and, in the finished article, is bent back toward the connector portions proper, there are obtained two separate and mutually independent spring components whose spring actions are additive. Furthermore, this lateral arrangement provides for a more convenient manual access to the tongue which, as explained above, is depressed whenever the detent flaps are to be moved to a position where they will allow the connector to be withdrawn from the insulator.

It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes, and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. As an article of manufacture, an elongated electrical connector adapted for insertion into an insulator and having at one end a contact-making portion, at the opposite end a lead-connecting portion, and, at a location disposed between said contact-making and lead-connecting portions, tongue means resiliently defiectable with respect to the remainder of said connector and carrying at least two detent flaps, said flaps being oriented to act as detents in opposite directions, respectively, so that one of said detent flaps is effective for preventing removal of said connector from the insulator in one direction and the other of said detent flaps is effective for preventing removal of said connector from the insulator in the opposite direction, said tongue means having only one end joined to the remainder of said connector and being actuatable against its resiliency to move said detent flaps into a posi tion wherein insertion and removal of said connector from the insulator is possible in either direction without hindrance on the part of said detent flaps.

2. An article as defined in claim 1 wherein said tongue means comprise a single resilient tongue which carries both of said flaps.

3. An article as defined in claim 2 wherein said tongue, including said flaps, and the remainder of said connector are one integral piece of bent sheet material.

4. An article as defined in claim 3 wherein said flaps are cut out along a plurality of edges and are bent outwardly from the same side of said tongue.

5. An article as defined in claim 3 wherein said tongue is a portion of the blank, prior to its being bent to form the finished article, which is laterally of and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the remainder of the blank.

6. An article as defined in claim 1 wherein the free end of said tongue is bent toward the remainder of said connector.

7. An article as defined in claim 1 wherein said contact-making portion is a fiat prong.

8. An article as defined in claim 1 wherein said contact-making portion is a round prong.

9. An article as defined in claim 1 wherein said contact-making portion is a socket.

10. An article as defined in claim 9 wherein said contact-making portion comprises a plurality of individual, mutually independently resilient tongues which are bent to constitute said socket.

11. An article as defined in claim 10 wherein said socket-forming tongues have ends which circumferentially overlap each other.

12. An article as defined in claim 9 wherein said contact-making portion comprises a plurality of fiat, mutually independently resilient tongues.

13. A composite connector comprising a plurality of socket-forming connectors each as defined in claim 9, and detent means for connecting said connectors to each other.

14. A composite connector as defined in claim 13 wherein said detent means comprise a ball.

15. A plug connection comprising two connectors each as defined in claim 1, one of said connectors having a contact-making portion which is a socket and the other of said connectors having a contact-making portion which is a prong, said connectors otherwise being configured to be receivable by identically configured insulators, in consequence of which the socket-type connector and the prong-type connector are selectively insertable into standardized insulators.

16. An arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein said tongue extends from the point where it is joined to said connector toward the end at which said lead-connecting portion is disposed.

17. An arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein the other end of said tongue is arranged to extend free of the insulator when said connector is in its inserted position in the insulator.

18. An arrangement as defined in claim 17 further comprising an insulator provided with an opening for receiving said connector and a shoulder at one end of said opening for engaging said flaps.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,318,650 5/1943 Penfold 339-217 2,169,219 8/ 1939 Brownstein. 2,195,975 4/ 1940 Ribble et al. 2,215,366 9/1940 Alden. 3,178,669 4/ 1965 Roberts. 3,233,208 2/1966 Ruehlemann. 3,248,686 4/ 1966 Ruehlemann. 3,283,288 11/1966 Biba et a1. 3,299,396 1/ 1967 Kinkaid.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,159,064 12/1963 Germany.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner. 

